The marijuana grow
operations, the escorts and phone sex operators all exist in our
neighborhoods but just out of sight. Vancouver has become world famous for
its sex industry and marijuana cultivation, the impression of a more
tolerant society. To the outside world, our culture offers a softer image
of these traditional vices. In this series," Pin-Up Strips", I
have juxtaposed 1950’s style Pin-Up photography with the form of today’s
index cards, the kind included with processed film. With a glance, the
index cards show the viewer all the photos of that roll of film. I am
interested in the sequential placement of the images and the narrative
that emerges when viewing the index card strip. Each index card provides a
glamorized glimpse of hidden realities. The covers of pulp fiction novels
and true crime magazines with pictures of busty women in peril hinted of a
dark sinister underworld but titillated at the same time. With this series
"Pin-Up Strips" I have chosen the Pin-Up as the guide to glimpse
scenes of current underworld activities, usually unseen but clearly in our
neighborhoods.